Geneseo has a rich history of academic excellence and innovative approaches to education that make it a beacon for other districts to look to. The district is again looking at research-based approaches to teaching, learning, assessing, and providing feedback as 30 teachers across the district pilot standards-based reporting.
PowerSchool describes standards-based grading as “[breaking] down large subjects into smaller learning objectives to help teachers better measure student learning. This makes it really clear to teachers where students are thriving and where they need help.”
The standards-based approach also helps teachers more effectively communicate to students about the learning target and their progress toward meeting the target.
Superintendent Dr. Adam Brumbaugh gave a presentation on standards-based reporting at the Board of Education’s (BOE) meeting on October 12 and shared that Geneseo has been implementing basic standards-based practices since the 2012-13 school year. When faced with the many challenges of the pandemic, staff took a deeper dive by reidentifying what essential standards needed to be covered and considering how to improve student feedback on individual growth.
“The processes we use for teaching and assessing will always be extremely important to us,” explained Dr. Brumbaugh. “We have high standards at Geneseo and we owe it to our families to provide the best of each. Reported grades are only as meaningful and helpful as the way we define them and how we assess students in relation to those definitions.”
Brumbaugh continued, “As educators, we are always learning and we will continue to ask ourselves, ‘What is the most accurate and effective way to communicate a student's learning?’”
For the 30 teachers who are currently using standards-based reporting, parents are seeing a different gradebook in Skyward with a 4-3-2-1 grading scale. In the coming months, the BOE will hear reports from staff who are using standards-based reporting and the benefits they are seeing from it with students in their classrooms.
“It can be tough for parents and students to let go of the traditional report cards with A’s, B’s and C’s,” Dr. Brumbaugh acknowledged. “But once they take the time to understand the standards-based approach, I’m confident they will see this is a system with many benefits as it relates to accuracy and reliability."
By the spring of 2024, a determination will be made whether a standards-based system should be recommended to the BOE for some level of adoption. If that happens, it would not be until the 2025-26 school year to allow for substantial professional development and communication to take place.
Learn more about standards-based reporting, the benefits for students, parents and teachers, and access additional resources by clicking here now.